Social Media And Gender Stereotypes

While social media has created a world of opportunities, it has also invented some new ideas and issues among the male and female genders. In November of 2016, it was estimated that an average of 90 % of American adults, aged 18-49, had any sort of a social media account.[2] 71% of teenagers have a social media account.[3] While those aged 50 or more had a average of 49%.[4] In total, 264197512.08 people within the American population has a social media account. Worldwide, this number is multiplied by 8.86 where 2.34 billion people globally, have social media.[5]
When a large number of people are on social media, it can be safely assumed that some major celebrities would have social media as well. Whether it is used as a way to tell an audience

Celebrities like Melissa McCarthy and Lily James have all seen the attacks of negative body support. In 2016 with the release of the Disney movie Cinderella, Lily James went under fire for her 17 inch waist appearance. She was heavily criticized for being “so bad for young viewers' body image & [is] unnecessary.”[11] Lily James soon began to speak about about the negative comments and exclaimed that she "...think[s] it's all very hypocritical, and they contradict themselves, and they're drawing more attention to it. I think all that stuff's so negative, and you've got to let it wash over your head.”[11] After this, Lily decided to help younger audiences by telling them that they sould not let what other people say get to them. Everybody is perfect the way they are. Melissa McCarthy has also been known to be body shamed for being fat- shamed. Instead of letting negative comments bring her down, McCarthy embraces her body. She exclaimed to Ree Hines, a writer from the Today Show, that “"[I love] all of it — my flaws, my shortcomings, my body parts that you're like, 'Well, couldn’t that be better?' — all of it!" she explained. "I think, especially after having kids, I go, 'Well, the alternative is pretty bad. I’ll take me as I am.'" [12] This type of body reinforcement is beneficial to all people because they are encouraged to accept how they are. Even well known “heavy set” embracers still get body

It also will affect men as well. Men are portrayed, especially in American society, as beings that need to take care of a girl. They need to be big, strong, well rounded and fit. When a man does not fit this image, he becomes self conscience and in most cases, and also becomes depressed. When society points out flaws like small male reproductive organs, round stomach and lack of muscles, a man's ego will become crushed. Just like woman, they feel like they are not wanted and accepted if they do not fit the mold of society. Take for example, Robert Kardashian. Always being in the shadows of his sisters, the Kardashians, Robert has been body shamed for being “larger” because he did not fit in with how his sisters looked. He was not very thin or fit or had very much to offer. He had also been receiving comments like “Rob Kardashian is still shaped like a soccer mom of 4 kids in an unhappy marriage” on social media sites like twitter.[14] Because of these comments, Robert has slipped in and out of depression and have had suicidal thoughts for many years. Another male that has seen the harsh faces of judgment, is none other than Wentworth Miller. Miller is an actor on the American television show, Prison Break. After the actor had finished shooting the show, a picture surfaced of him slightly heavier than he had been before. Society recognized him as being buff, however, after the image appeared, they no longer viewed him